A firm that grows with its founder over the years is literally an outgrowth of the founder’s capabilities and talents, which is why transitioning to new leadership when it’s time for succession can create many challenges, including maintaining growth. This week, experts discuss with us how a firm can turn the founder’s book of business into a growth engine that transcends individual advisors for future continuity.
We are also excited to bring back the M&A Confidential series in collaboration with Hue Partners, with the first of seven fall episodes.
Turn The RIA Business Book Into A Growth Engine
For RIAs with $1 billion to $15 billion in assets, succession isn’t just about preserving the existing book. It’s also about ensuring the firm can keep generating organic growth after the founder steps away.
David DeVoe of DeVoe & Company, Jim Roth of Ascentix Partners, Tyler Morris of Stratos Private Wealth, Josh Harris of Coldstream Wealth Management, Varun Sanon of Perigon Wealth and Andy Kalbaugh of Wealth Consulting Group discuss how firms can make that transition.
You’re Not Buying A Firm. You’re Marrying One.
Emily Blue of Hue Partners and Daniel Crosby of Orion discuss how to examine culture, employee retention and the founder’s future role when considering a firm sale.
This article accompanies a video interview between Blue and Crosby in the Hue Partners: M&A Confidential video series.
‘If I Died Tomorrow’: Ensuring The Client’s Paycheck Continues
To learn how advisors can determine which income survives when a client dies and how to replace what does not, we spoke with Bryan Molinar of Atlas Legacy Advisors, Roshan Weeramantry of Hyphen Wealth Management and Matthew Smart of WWM Investments.
We asked each of them what they would say if a client asked, “If I died tomorrow, would my biggest paycheck still show up?” And how would the advisor know?
The New Growth Playbook For RIAs: Why ‘More Leads’ Is The Wrong Goal
Cameron Rosenow of NorthRock Partners argues that RIAs should not treat lead volume as the primary measure of growth and focus instead on where their best client relationships come from, which prospects are genuinely a fit and how those opportunities move through the firm.
He suggests building prospect personas around problems rather than demographics, treating conversion as a team responsibility and measuring factors such as lead source, conversion rates, advisor time and whether new relationships fit the firm’s service model over the long term.
Dear Ryan: Technically Compliant, Culturally Complicit
A strong compliance program on paper is not enough if a firm’s culture discourages escalation. In his latest Dear Ryan column, Ryan George of Docupace advises a chief compliance officer who suffered a regulatory failure that exposed a deeper gap between formal controls and the way issues actually move through an organization.
George advises that a compliance leader should frame such failures not only as process breakdowns, but as leadership and culture problems that require broader ownership across the firm.
The Final Four – What Investment Experts Are Watching In The Remaining Months Of 2026
Jim Roth of Ascentix Partners brings together investment experts John Marshall of Carrick Lane, Rafia Hasan of Perigon, Pete Alliegro of Sagient, Bob Hostetter of VestGen and Clint Sorenson of Ascentis to examine the forces that could shape markets through the final months of 2026.
They focus on AI valuations, Fed policy, Treasury yields, the midterm elections and geopolitical risks, along with where opportunities may emerge beyond the Magnificent Seven.
Investments Roundup
This month’s roundup features Vestmark, Dynasty, CAIS, TradePMR, T. Rowe Price, Victory Capital, AdvizorPro, Orion, State Street, Aqua, HFR and Franklin Templeton.
State Street reported $180 billion flowed into U.S.-listed ETFs in August, about 3.8 times the historical August average, putting inflows for 2026 on pace to surpass last year’s record.
Stop Building A Practice. Start Building An Enterprise.
Jason Inglis of Trilogy Financial says that advisors can build highly successful practices without ever building true enterprises, which are firms that can grow, serve clients and make decisions without depending on the founder for everything.
Inglis examines the shift from founder-driven practice to scalable enterprise, including stronger leadership, documented processes, broader client relationships and clearer career paths for the next generation.
Deals & Recruiting Roundup
This week’s roundup includes M&A involving Envestnet, RFG Advisory, Modern Wealth, OnePoint BFG and Hightower; financing by Savvy; recruitments by Wealthcare, LPL and NewEdge; and appointments by Beacon Pointe, BridgePort and Hargrove MSO.
Hightower has been aggressively expanding Hightower Signature Wealth, now to more than $40 billion in AUM and over 130 advisors.
Amplified Planning Introduces Specialized Online Advisor Training Program
Amplified Planning teamed with Cary Carbonaro, Managing Advisor at Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, to start the Women & Wealth Masterclass, a continuing education online course developed to help financial planners build stronger relationships with female clients.
“Women are poised to control an extraordinary amount of wealth, but this course isn’t really about statistics; it is about whether our profession is prepared to serve those women well,” said Hannah Moore of Amplified Planning.
Envestnet’s Deal To Buy Vestmark Makes Sense For Both Firms, Wealthtech Expert Says
Envestnet agreed to acquire Vestmark in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter. Vestmark supports more than $2 trillion in assets, and the acquisition would add trading, tax-transition and portfolio management capabilities to Envestnet’s platform.
Joel Bruckenstein of Technology Tools for Today told WSR that the deal is also about scale and market access: “I don’t think they (Envestnet) were particularly strong in the wirehouse space and it gives them access to that.”
Feathery Launches An AI Operations Assistant For Financial Services
Feathery launched Robin, an AI operations assistant designed to help financial services firms build and adapt workflows using plain English. For wealth management firms, Robin can support functions including client onboarding, account opening and advisor transitions.
The platform is designed to work within firms’ existing operational systems, using connected data and workflow infrastructure to answer questions, flag items requiring attention and suggest next steps.
RFG Supports WFA, Volare Merger To Form $750 Million Firm
RFG Advisory announced that WFA and Volare Wealth Advisors merged to form WFA Volare, a wealth management firm headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, managing over $750 million in client assets.
RFG said the merger continues Volare’s focus on women and families and brings together women advisors from several markets.
CogniCor Launches New Advisory Board
CogniCor expanded its advisory board with six new members who will join Shannon Eusey of Beacon Pointe Advisors: Joseph Kuo of Haven Tower and Ascentix Partners, Matthew Incitti of Hamilton Point Investments, Louis Diamond of Diamond Consultants, Allison Couch Pratt of Anchor Point Strategies, Jim Roth of Ascentix Partners and Douglas Wilber of SixThirty Ventures.
The board will work with CogniCor as the firm broadens its use of AI, with a focus on connecting information across advisors’ books of business and their firms to support capacity, client service and growth.
FMG Suite Launches FMG Connect To Link Advisor Tools And Data
FMG launched FMG Connect, an integration layer designed to help financial advisors connect data and workflows across the tools they already use. The platform is initially working with Aidentified, Asset-Map, GReminders, Jump, Tax Status, WealthFeed and Zocks.
FMG Connect is designed to support functions including productivity, prospecting, relationship intelligence and client communication, with partner-powered features expected to reach shared customers in the coming months.
BridgePort Hires Former Osaic M&A Executive Tina Decker
BridgePort Financial Solutions hired former Osaic executive Tina Decker as Senior Vice President of Business Development, where she will lead the firm’s M&A strategy and execution.
Decker has more than two decades of industry experience and has worked on more than 400 transactions representing over $10 billion in acquired and retained assets.
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Wealth Solutions Report
